Artificial bait and weed-guard.



PATENTED MAR. 12, 1907.

G. W. UPTON.

ARTIFICIAL BAIT AND WEED GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1906.

WITNESSES: 4 29% oiarc/ A TTOHNE Y GEORGE W. UPTON, OF WARREN, OHIO.

ARTIFICIAL BAIT AND WEED-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application filed August 16.1906. Serial No. 330,882-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, GEORGE W. UPTON, of

Warren, in the county of Trumbull and.

State of Ohio, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Artificial Bait and Weed-Guards; and I do hereby declare the, following to be a full, clear, and exact de-" scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same;

The primary object of this invent on is to provide an artificial bait of such material as to be highly attractive to fish and so attach it to the hook as to prevent'its being .torn away, and a further object is to provide a weed-guard which will effectively protect the hook in whatever position'it may lie and which will add to the attractiveness of the bait.

It is well known that all game fish, and especially those of the Micropterus family, subsist largely on crayfish, and my object is to produce an artificial bait whichwhengwet will have the appearance of the crayfish."-

The invention will be' hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a hook and bait embodying my present improvementsf Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 show the manner in which the hairs are secured to a hook. Fig. 6 is an edge .view of the hook and guard detached. ldig. 7 is a side view thereof. 8 shows a modified form of guard. v

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates. the hook, and 2 the artificial bait intended to represent in its en irety the body of the crayfish. For this p rpose I employ hairs from the tail of a calf or other hairs of similar tex ture and arrange them, preferably, in two or more separate masses. The mass or bunch 3 is first secured to the shank of the hook by a binder 4, preferablyof thread. The mass is then turned'back upon itself and a second binder 5 is applied thereto, thus securely fastening the hairs to the hook. -The other bunch or mass 6 is likewise secured to the shank of the hook by a, binder 7, with the ends rojecting over the end of the shank. It is t en turned back upon itself and again secured by a second binder 8, the mass'lying ove the first mass and concealing the secu ed end of each mass. Of course one continuous thread may serve as the two binders and for each bunch or mass of hair. The hair being brown gives to the bait the color of some crayfish. Hairs from a calfs tail are not waterproof, as arethe hairs of the bucks tail, heretofore generally used as baits, and in consequence they mat down into a body. By securing the hairs in one or more separate masses along the shank of the hook more hair can be used without danger of being then easily pulled out, as is the case where hairs are attached in a single thick bunch, rendering effective binding impracticable.. Because of the natural odor and feel of the hairs of the calfs tail the bait will not ordinarily be ejected by the fish, as are feather lures.

In order to give to the bait the dark-moss color of the back of the crayfish, I employ a few threads 9 of peacock-harl or anything capable of effecting the necessary simulation. This is preferably secured by a binder 9* over the attached ends of the mass 6. The harl, which ordinarily lies on top, maintains its color when wet, thus adding to the attractiveness of the bait. The belly of the neath the hairs and which may be of any material that retains its color when wet, such as a feather from the ibis, or it may be composed of silk or other material. It is preferably secured by the binder 9".

l2 designates the weed guard or deflector, made 9f springy rubber or other non-metallic substance. .It is curved or arched to form a bend 13, with an opening 14 formed by and between two corresponding spaced apart sides 15 and terminates in a flexible tail-like portion 16, which is narrowed at different points, as at 17. The two sides 15 normally occu y a plane on o posite sides of the point arb of the book. The uard is made of suflicient stiffness to norma ly maintain its position relatively to the book, so that the point of the latter will penetrate beyond the opening only when the. guard and hook are compressed from opposite directions. Thus the hook is prevented from catchingon weeds or other-inanimate things, and instead of remore attractwill cause it to swing from side to side like unto the motions of a live worm, while the bent portion of the uard enhances the deception. Although t e uard may be made ofany suitable non-metzfilic substance, yet I refer to employ rubber. The guard may e used on any fish-hook, with or without the calf-tail flies.

guardin the form of a single arm attached at one end to the hook-shank and with its other.

end-normallylying-in close proximity to thepointofthe-hook, thereby serving to deflect weeds-and the like from the latter. In this instance the guardis also formed of springrubber or similar material other than metal.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be observed that by securing the hair to the shankin two-or more masses each may be isso formed thatthe point and arb of the hook can beiexposed only upon the application of pressure from opposite directions that is to say, a ainst. the hook and the curved portion of the guard,

I claim as my,invention- 1. An artificial bait composed of hair,.peacock-harl on one side ofthe hair, and a feather or .the like on the opposite side of such hair, the whole whenwet having the appearance of a era sh.

2. An artificia bait composed ofa hook,

' hair attached thereto in separate masses, and

objects of different colorssecured on the exterior of saidmasses.

3. Anartificial 'bait' comprising a'hook, hair secured thereto in a plurality of separate masses, harl attached tonne of saidmasses,

' and a colored object also secured to said mass onthe side opposite tothe harl. v,4. A fish-hook, hair secured thereto in sepg arate bunches, each bunch, bein doubled back on itself, and means for retaining eacli'.

6. The combination with a fish-hook, of

guard lying in. protective relation to the point of the hook, such guard being composed of springy non-metallicsubstance. In Fig. 8 I have shown a modified formof 7. The combination with a fish hook, of a uard extended'over the point thereof and ormed with aflexible tail.

'8. The combination with a fish-hook, of a uard, extended over the point thereof and aving a flexible tail formed with narrowedportions- 9. A fish-hook having a guard formed with I an o ening andextended, aroundthe bend of hook, the point of said hook normally.

the lying within the plane of that portion of the guard formed with said opening. I

v 10. A fish-hook having a guardcomposed ofspringy rubber and exten ing on opposite sides of the point of the hook, that portion of to the bend of said hook and curved to simulate a worm, a ortion of said body protruding as high as t e point of the hook above its shank.

13. An attachment for fish-hooks,- made of elastic or resilient material and adapted to be fastened to the head of a hook, a portion of such attachmentibeing thinner or narrower than its extremities,

In testimony whereofI have signed this specification in.the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE W..UPTON.

Witnesses:

HOMER.E..STEWARIT, WASHINGTON HYDE. 

